Individual telephoie call



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T. C. BRAKE. INDIVIDUAL TELEPHONE GALL.

Patented Peb. 22, 1898.

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T. G. BRAKE. INDIVIDUAL TELEPHONE GALL.

Patented Peb. 22, 1898'.

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T. C. BRAKE.

INDIVIDUAL TELEPHONE CALL. No. 599,322. Patented Peb. 22, 1898.

LD" sg 9 WITNESEES- INVENTUB LW/ff. @M5- @Mm/wf 'rnoMAs c. DRAKE, or MALTA, omo,

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ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

OE ONE-THIRD TO JAMES M. RUSK, OF MCOONNELSVILLE, OHIO.

INIVIDUL TELEPHONE-CALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,322, dated February 22, 1898. Application led .Tuly 2, 1894. Serial No. 516,354.. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS C. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Malta, in the county of Morgan and State of Ohio,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Signaling Apparatus for Individual Telephone-Calls; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such 1o as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to an improved system of electric signaling apparatus to be used in connection with telephone or other apparatus; and it has for its object to provide a system by means of which any particular station may be called without interfering with or calling any other station; and a further object of the invention is to provide for maintaining all moving mechanism in unison throughout the series of instruments by returning them to normal position after a call has been made, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In carrying out my system I locate an instrumeut and its accessories at each station, all instruments being precisely alike in con struction, differing, however, in the position of the circuit-closing devices, which are adjustable, so that they may be set to close the closing devices of but two of the instruments at a time, leaving all others out of circuit.

In my system I preferably employ two mainline-wire circuits, one containing the signaling apparatus in series and the other having the signaling-bells and telephoneinstruments connected in multiple and also signaling-bells connected in local circuit at each station instrument. At each station instrument is placed a suitable resistance and switch, by means of which the intensity of the current may be varied to operate the signaling mechanism in one instance and afterward to return them to normal position, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and speciiically pointed out in the claims.

The objects herein'before mentioned are attained by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l illustrates a diagrammatic View showing several instruments and their accessoi-ies in circuit; Fig. 2, a front plan view of one of the instruments connected with a magneto call-bell, showing the casing and dial in dotted lines and the front portion of the frame supporting the signaling mechanism removed to show clearly said mechanism; Fig.

3, a plan View of the opposite side of the instrument, showing' it in connection with an ordinary vibratory call-bell, the bell being 6o represented by dotted lines; Fig. it, a similar view without the call-bell attachment and with the rear portion of the frame supporting the signaling mechanism removed; Fig. 5, a right-hand end elevation of the same, showing the casing in section; Fig. 6, a top plan view showing the casing in section; Fig, 7 a section on line o@ of Fig. 2, showing connections at bottom of casing; and Fig. 8, an enlarged View of a portion of the signaling mech- 7o anism.

In describing the instruments employed in my system it will be evident that a description of one will answer for all. Therefore, referring to the several figures of the draw- 7 5 ings, the numeral l indicates the casing of the instrument, which is constructed of wood or other suitable material and preferably rectangular in shape. The said casing is provided with a hinged door 2, to which is at- 8o tached a frame 3, carrying the signal-operating devices.

The numeral 4. indicates a shaft journaled in suitable bearings and having one end projecting through the door, and a dial-plate 5,85 at the front of said door. The projecting end of said shaft carries a pointer 6, and said dial is provided with numbers corresponding to the number of stations in the circuit. Mounted upon the shaft 4 is a metallic disk 7, which 9o has its periphery faced with a rim 8, of insulating material, which is divided at a point and the space iilled with a section of conducting material, soas to provide a contact-point 9, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. The shaft 4. has also mounted upon it a ratchet-wheel l0 and a small pulley l1, the latter having secured to it one end of a cord l2, the other end of said cord being attached to a weight 13, the object of which will be de- 10o scribed later on.

The numeral ltindicates an electromagnet which` may be secured to the frame in any well-known manner. The lower end of the core of said magnet projects slightly below the end of the spool, and a soft-iron armaturelever 15 is pivoted to an angle-lever 16, which is fulcrumed between bearings 17 at the lower end of the frame. The short or horizontal arm of said angle-lever sets under the pivoted armature -lever and is provided with set- Screws 18 and 19, by means of which said armature-lever is adjusted with respect to the lower end of the pole of the electromagnet 14. The long or vertical arm of the angle-lever extends upward, and near the angle is provided with a horizontal arm 20, to the free end of which is attached one end of a retractile spring 21, the other end of said spring is attached to a shaft 22, which passes through a bearing in the frame and serves to adjust the tension of the spring. By means of this spring the angle-lever is held normally in such position as to keep the armature-lever free of the pole of the electromagnet until the same is energized by closing the circuit through its coil. At the upper end of the long or vertical arm of the angle-lever are formed bearings 23, between which is pivoted a pawl 24, which engages the teeth ofthe ratchet-wheel 10 and imparts yto it a step-by-step movement when the electromagnet is energized, as before mentioned.

The numeral 25 indicates a right angle bracket which is properly insulated from and secured to the angle-lever (clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 8) and carries in the upper end of its vertical arm an adjustable set-screw 26, which is adapted to make contact with contact-point 9 of disk 7, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

The numeral 27 indicates a pawl secured to a shaft 28, which is pivoted between bearings 29 on the frame and is provided with a hook at its free end to engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 10 and hold said wheel at each step that it is rotated by the pawl 24, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

rlhe numeral 30 indicates an angle-lever mounted on a shaft 31, which is journaled in suitable bearings at the sides of the frame. The long or horizontal arm of said angle-lever passes between adjustable set-screws 32 in the bifurcated arms 33 of a bracket 34, secured to one side of the frame, and by means of said screws the movement of said arm is readily regulated. The free end of the arm is provided with an adjustable weight 35, which prevents said arm from being raised or lifted when the current has been weakened, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. To said arm is pivoted an upwardly-extending bar 36, which 'has its upper end bifurcated to straddle the pin 37, secured to one side of an extension 33 of the pawl 24, so as to raise said pawl and pawl 27 out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 10, the pawl 24 being provided with an inclined shoulder 39 and the hook end of the pawl 27 with a corresponding incline for this purpose. The short or downwardly-extending arm of the angle-lever 30 is provided with an adjustable set-screw 40, against which the long or vertical arm of the angle-lever 16 is adapted to strike in its full outward movement, which occurs when the coil of the electromagnet 14 is energized to vibrate said lever 30.

The numeral 4l indicates a resistance-coil situated within the casing and having one end of its coils connected with a plate 42, bearing a contact-point 43, and the other end connected with one of a pair of metallic-leaf contact-springs 44, secured to one side of the casing. The said leaf contact-spring is in electrical connection with a binding-post 45 by a conductor 46, and the other leaf contactspring is in electrical connection with one leaf of a lower door-hinge by conductor 47. The other leaf of said door-hinge is connected by conductor 4S with an operating-key 49, which is secured to the inner side of the door and is adapted to contact with contact-point 43 while being manipulated to open and close the circuit through electromagnet 14 and the resistance-coil.

The terminals of the coils of the electromagnet 14 connect, respectively, with the upper and lower door-hinges, and the upper hinge is connected with a binding-post 50 by a conductor 51.

The numeral 52 indicates a metallic-leaf contact-spring which is secured to the door and contacts with a iiat metal plate 53, which is connected by a conductor 54 with a binding-post 54', and the numeral 55 indicates a similar contact-sprin g secured to the door and made to contact with a flat metal plate 56, which is connected with a binding-post- 57 by a conductor 53. The leaf contact-spring 55 is connected by a conductor 59 with the angle bracket 25, the adjustable contactscrew of which makes contact with the contact-point 9 on disks 7 to ground the branch wires on which is placed the magnetic bell, which wires lead from the main-line wire and are independent from the wire used for the call; but it will be understood that no two calls or stations have their contact-points 9 arranged at the same number, and it will be evident that no two branch wires will be grounded at the same time.

The numeral (50 indicates a switch which comprises al lever 61, fulcrumed in a slot, and a hook-bar 63, pivoted to the upper' end of said lever and adapted to slide back and forth through a slot in the side of the casing and through a housing 64, attached to the outside of said casing, said sliding hook-bar provided with a cross-bar 65, adapted to contact with the leaf-contacts 44.

The operation of the above-described mechanism is as follows: The resistances of all the instruments being normally out of circuit when the switch at the senders station is IOO IIO

opened, the resistance at his instrument is thrown into line, and then when the main circuit is broken a number of times bythe operating-key the intermittent impulses established on said main line will cause the pivoted armature to be attracted by the pole of the electromagnet 14 a corresponding number of times, and at each attraction the upper end of the vertical arm of the angle-lever 16 will be forced outward, causing the pawl 24 to rotate the ratchet-wheel one step, and as the disk is arranged to rotate with the ratchetwheel it will be evident that said disk will move in unison with said ratchet-wheel, and if station No. 3 should be called the contactscrew 26 at that station would contact with the contact 9 of the disk 7 and ground the branch wire, which will be the only branch wire grounded. Then if the sender turned the crank of his magneto instrument, which is also arranged to ground the branch wire, the signaling-current would be sent to No. 3. After the call has been made the instrument may be placed in normal condition by shifting the switch 60, which closes the circuit and cuts out the resistance-coil, thereby increasing the strength of the current through the electromagnet, so as to cause the vertical arm of the angle-lever 16 to raise or lift the weighted end of the angle-lever 30, which action causes the bifurcated bar 36 to lift the pawls 24 and 27 out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel 10, and said wheel being thus freed the shaft upon which it is mounted will be caused to rotate in the opposite direction by the weight 13, which is attached to the shaft-pulley 11 by the cord 12 unwinding the cord which has been wound around the pulley during the step-by-step movement imparted to the ratchet-wheel by the pawl 24, and thus return the pointer on the shaft to the normal or zero point.

Having thus described the construction of one of the instruments and its method of operation, I will now proceed to describe my method of assembling the same and afterward the operation of the system.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that several instruments are in the circuit, representing as many stations. In said ligure the letter a indicates one of the line-wires of the system, which wire extends throughout the entire circuit and is strung on insulators l), secured to the supporting-poles c. The letter d indicates another line-wire, which is connected to one pole of a battery e, the other pole being grounded by means of a conductor f, said wire having in circuit with it a series of switches 60 and resistances 41, the terminals of each being connected, respectively, with the operating-key and leaf contact-springs 44, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

The magneto-bells 71, are placed on branch wires t', leading from the line-wire a, and are independent of the line-wire d, said branch wires being grounded through the magnetobells, as hereinbefore described. The telephones are placed in the same circuit by means of the wires 7.a and m.

The operation of the system is as follows: It will be understood that the contact-points on the disks 7 are arranged to make contact with the set-screws 26 at dissimilar intervals-that is to say, no two calls have their contact-points set at the same number. The pointers of the several instruments are normally at zero, and when it is desired to call from one station to another the person who desires to make the call opens his switch, thus putting the resistance of his instrument in circuit. He then breaks the circuit by means of the operating-key a number of times corresponding to the number of the station to be called. The impulses thus created on the main line will cause the armature-levers 16 to be attracted by the pcles of the magnets 14, and thereby cause pawls 24 to rotate the ratchet-wheels 10 and the disks 7 simultaneously the same distance. Say, for instance, that station No. 1 desires to call station No. 3. The person at No. 1 will close the circuit three times by the key of his instrument, and all the disks will be rotated three steps; but as the disk at No. 3 is the only one arranged to make electrical contact with set-screw 26 it will be evident that the signal at that station will be the only one to respond to the magneto-electric machine at station No. 1, as these two will be the only instruments in circuit. By turning the crank of the magneto-bell the person at No. 1 will sound an alarm at No. 3. By taking the receiver off the hook-bar 63 and shifting the switch 60 the telephone instrument is cut into the main circuit for work, as usual. When the signal has been sent and conversation between the parties at the two stations has been Iinished, the act of reversing the switch throws the resistance of the instrument at station No. 1 out of line, increasing the strength of the current through the electromagnet 14, this increase in the strength of the current causing the pivoted armaturelever and the angle-lever to which it is pivoted to overcome the weight 35 on the anglelever 30, and lifting the pawls 24 and 27 out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel of the entire series of instruments, and permitting the weighted cords 12 to return the pointers and contact-disks 7 to their normal position.

The resistance in each instrument is suflicient to reduce the current to a strength sufficient to operate the ratchet-wheels, but not to operate the pointers to return them to normal position. This decrease in the strength of the current is rendered necessary, as the full strength of the current would lift the pawls 24 and 27 out of engagement with the ratchet-wheels and no step-by-step movement would take place. l/Vhen the switch 60 is open, the closing of the key sends the current through the resistance-coil to contact- IIO point 9,through the magnet 14,and on through the several instruments to the terminus. When the switch is closed and the resistance out out, the strength of the current is greatly increased. Thus it will be seen that the current is made to possess two different strengths, the weaker current operating to impart a step-by-step movement to the ratchet-wheels and disks, and the stronger current operating to return the same and the pointers to their normal position.

Modifications of my invention maybe made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the principle thereof--such, for instance, as the employment of vibratory bells and local batteries instead of the magneto-bells hereinbefore described. In this case the branch wire from the open or telephone instrument is grounded through the telephone when the receiver is taken from the hook.

Further, two magnets may be employed in series on the respective instruments, one giving the step-by-step movement and the other operating the mechanism to return the hands to normal position.

In Fig. 3 is shown a vibratory electrical alarm 66, which I prefer to attach to the door of the casing in any convenient manner. The numeral 67 indicates the electromagnet, 68 the vibratory armature, and 69 the bell-hammer attached thereto. The hammer arm passes through an opening in the door, and the hammer is located within the bell 70, Which is fastened to the front side of the door. As the bell or alarm mechanism is of wellknown kind, a more detailed description is unnecessary. One terminal of the bell-magnet is connected with a binding-post 7l, which is connected with the frame in such manner as to be in electrical contact with contact-point 9 on disk '7,and the other terminal with one pole of a battery, the other pole to be in electrical connection with the screw-contact 26. l/Vhen the disk 7 is rotated a number of times, the circuit is made through the local battery and magnet-coil of the vibrating bell and a continuous alarm is sounded. The operation of putting the ratchet-wheel, disks, and pointers back to normal position is similar to that hereinbefore described.

It will be seen that only one resistance is ever in circuit in the main line, which is the one cut in by the sending operator, who breaks the circuit by the key 49 to impart the stepby-step movement. When the switch is closed, the resistance is cut out, permitting the electromagnets of all the instruments to attract their armatures to their full extent and permit the pointers to be returned simultaneously to normal position. A

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an individual telephone system, the combination of a multiplicity of instruments connected by two line-circuits and a groundcircuit, and a battery and switches in said circuit, each instrument embracing a shaft carrying a ratchet-wheel, a pulley and contact-disk, an an gle-lever, an adjustable armature, means for adjusting the armature, and aweighted lever to disengage the said ratchetwheel when the resistances are cut out of circuit, substantially as specified.

2. In an electric signaling device, the combination, with the actuating-magnet, of an angle-lever, an adjustable armature having bearings in said lever and means for adjusting it with respect to the lever, a ratchetwheel and a pawl to move the same step by step, a weighted lever and adjusting-screw and a bifurcated bracket and setscrews, whereby the angle-lever may be adjusted.

3. A selectin g system arranged to have each subscriber call any other subscriber without the intervention of the central office, comprising the combination of a line, a series of selecting devices thereon, step-by-step mechanism for operating the same, restoring mechanism for restoring the said step-by-step mechanism to a position of unison, means operated by a current of given strength to operate the stepby-step mechanism and means operated bya current of greater strength to operate the restoring mechanism.

4. In an individual telephone system, the combination of a series of instruments connected by two line-circuits and a ground-circuit, a battery and switches in said circuit, a resistance at each instrument normally out of circuit and a switch for putting said resistance into line in order to operate the stepby-step mechanism of each instrument and to cut out said resistance in order to restore said step-by-step mechanism to a position of unison, each instrument embracing a shaft carrying a ratchet-wheel, a pulley and a contact-disk, an angle-lever, an adjustable armature, means for adjusting the armature, and a weight-lever to disengage the said ratchetwheel when the resistances are cut out of circuit.

5. A selecting system arranged to have each subscriber call any other subscriber Without the intervention of the central office, comprising the combination of a line, a multiplicity of electromagnets controlling step-by-step mechanism, a series of resistances normally out of circuit but put into circuit when it is desired to operate the step-by-step mechanism, and unison mechanism,said unison mechanism consisting of a weighted lever adapted to disengage the pawls of the step-by-step mechanism from the ratchet-wheel when the resistances are cut out to restore said magnets to their full power.

6. In an electric signaling apparatus, the combination with a shaftl carrying a ratchetwheel, a pulley and a contact-disk, of an angle-lever carrying an adjustable armature, means for adjusting the armature with respect to the lever, a pawl engaging the ratchet- IOO IIO

Cil

whereby the armature may be adjusted with 1o reference to seid lever.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS C. BRAKE.

Witnesses:

E. J. ARRICK, W. A. HUTcHINs. 

